ISL, The City of Calgary and Graham Infrastructure Win the Minister’s Award for Transportation Innovation in Construction for Canada’s First DDI

On March 12, ISL, alongside The City of Calgary and Graham Infrastructure, received a Minister’s Award for Transportation Innovation in Construction for the Macleod Trail and 162 Avenue Interchange in Calgary – Canada’s First Diverging Diamond Interchange (DDI). The award was presented to the team on behalf of Alberta’s Minister of Transportation the Honourable Brian Mason at the annual Tri-Party Transportation Conference in Red Deer, Alberta.

"Delivering the first DDI in Canada took a team effort from the initial evaluation and community engagement process through the extensive research and design phase – all the way through construction,” says Chris Delanoy, Managing Director of ISL in Calgary. "The DDI brings best practices from around the world into Alberta’s unique context – offering a high capacity, flexible design that accommodates all modes of travel and can adapt to new technologies and travel demands".

Kara Wolfe, Project Manager for Macleod Trail / 162 Avenue Interchange for The City of Calgary adds: "The project was innovative from start to finish. By using permanent infrastructure for construction detouring, the interchange was constructed without property impacts and with minimal traffic disruption and lower throwaway costs. Not only was it completed on schedule but the unique construction staging resulted in significant cost savings, allowing residents to enjoy a higher quality outcome, at a lower cost and in less time than a traditional interchange."

The annual Minister’s Awards for Transportation Innovation recognize the innovative people and organizations in Alberta who plan, design, construct, operate or maintain a roadway, transit service or related initiative. It is an opportunity to celebrate transportation innovations, large or small, that pave the way to a better, more efficient, sustainable and safer transportation system in Alberta.

The Macleod Trail / 162 Avenue interchange provides access to major shopping centres, businesses and residential communities in southeast Calgary. Long planned as a partial cloverleaf interchange, ISL worked with The City of Calgary to instead design and construct Canada’s first DDI at this location. The unique and innovative solution improved safety, increased capacity and eased construction. Constructed by Graham Infrastructure and completed in August 2017, the DDI adopted best practices from American and European examples and took Calgary’s unique context into consideration.